The Zeta Project Season 3 Episode 4
by clutzattack
Summary: Episode 4 of this fanfic


THE ZETA PROJECT****

            SEASON THREE 

Disclosure: I am a college student in my second term of college now.  I absolutely have no money left for you to sue from me for writing a simple fanfic. 

I started out this fanfic series as an attempt to create episodes that might one day be storylines for the cartoon. The fact that they're turning out to be a little more ZeeRo shippy that originally planned is because I can't help myself. Please note: ZeeRo shipping is probably not something that the cartoon broadcasters would support. However, the corporate powers that cancelled the show are not in charge of the direction of the mock series. I am. ;D

"The Way of Tea" Ep. 4 Season 3

            "Any luck on finding anything on Dr. Edmund yet?" Ro asked, as she slid into the seat next to Zee. She held a Root beer-Cherry-Coke in one hand. 

She took a sip of her drink and looked at the flat panel computer screen. They were at the local Ground Wire café, looking up information as was becoming a weekly or even daily routine. Ground Wire was a very convenient place to obtain access to the net as they didn't have a house where they had assured access. Also, there was one in every town.  Zee was currently viewing one of the web sites that they regularly checked for information regarding Dr. Edmund.  It was the homepage of the University Edmund used to be a professor at. He used to give lectures there, but not anymore. It'd been months since Dr. Selig's lab on the Noesis had been destroyed. It'd been months since they'd offered to infiltrate the mission on Dr. Edmund's behalf. It'd been months since the incident since they or anyone had heard or seen him.  Where did he go?

             "Still no hits. It's like he's disappeared. He's not in the professor or teacher's directory anymore The University has discarded his records from their files, signifying that they've given up hope that he'll return."

            "Too bad this simply couldn't be a leave of absence or something," Ro sighed. "Anything else?" she asked. 

            Zee began to scan through the web pages at a pace that made Ro's head spin. If the internet connection were faster, she could be sure that he would be looking through them even faster. His processor was top of the line for sure. 

            "Nothing."

            "Figures." Ever since the Noesis had been destroyed, an event that would live on in infamy but only to those with top government clearance, the National Security Agency had raised its defense alert level permanently up another color. It was somewhere between blue and green. Ro had had a long debate with Zee that it was NOT "teal" colored but blue-green, and that the two colors were not the same. Even with Zee arguing that the pigment characteristics were  macroscopically similar, Ro convinced him that there was indeed a visual difference. Zee let her have the benefit of the doubt as the human eye was actually to able distinguish the difference between forty different hues, tints, tones, and shades of the same color.

Because of the heightened alert all major events in the scientific field were kept on a need to know basis only. Smaller conferences and forums weren't posted on the web or given notification of until a few days before the actual event. This was to prevent any long thought out terrorist attacks from being conceived too far in advance. The later they heard of the event, the less time they had to plot an assault.  Despite this, however, the events still occurred in the same frequency as they used to. The destruction of the Noesis had had no affect on the topics of the seminars given nor on those who gave them. Most of the scientists had no idea that the Noesis had even existed. The same people, the same names came up on the list of keynote speakers for science forums and lectures, but as usual, Edmund was never one of them. 

Ro's voice lowered to a whisper, "You don't supposed Brother's Day found him?" she asked. This had been one of their top worries, but was the one that they could do least about. If it were true, how could they intervene or help him? If he was being held captive, there certainly wouldn't be a webpage telling them where to look for him. And if they did go to one of their hideouts to look for him, and word ever got out that they were seen there, there would definitely be no way that they could ever clear Zee's name. All of Bennet's false suspicions about him would be confirmed. 

"I can't think of any reason why they'd take him captive or as a hostage. I infiltrated the mission on his behalf. They shouldn't think that he was un-loyal, or that he cheated them. "

"But what if they did find out that it wasn't him, but us? What if that one guy I knocked out that day told his boss that Dr. Edmund seemed to be getting assistance from outsiders?"

"Then they'd be looking for us. Still… We helped them do what they wanted…" Zee started to say, then stopped. When he thought about the horrible thing that had transpired as a result of his intervention he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. Ro knew what he was referring to.  It was their fault, or his fault, that Selig had died. Maybe if Dr. Edmund had gone on the submarine things would have turned out differently. Sweet would have escaped, of course, by maybe Selig would have as well. Sweet wouldn't have been on deck to shoot Selig's escape pod out of the sky. Or, maybe he would have rigged the Noesis up with even more explosives, and Selig would have been instantly killed, as well as everyone else. Maybe no one would have escaped, and they all would have died. That would be much worse.  One good thing did come from them helping Dr. Edmund out. He'd actually gotten to meet Dr. Selig. He'd heard the truth behind the module in his head. But… he hadn't told Dr. Selig that he was Zeta.

Ro quickly moved the direction of the topic to a different, but a similar one, "Maybe they're just mad that Sweet got busted?"

"Everything's a possibility. The fact still remains the same. We can't find him."

Ro became extremely animated, as she thought of another explanation of another horrible thing that might explain his absence. "What if they were looking for him to have him do another favor because they think that he is still loyal to them?" She noticed that she'd managed to distract some of the other internet surfers from their websites, enough to even further attract their attention to herself. They gave her an awkward stare then returned to their own business. Ro quieted down then added, "Big mean guys don't like to drop their minions so easily."

"That's definitely another possibly," Zee said, trying not to sound uninterested. They'd been over something like this at least once before. It wasn't worth dividing his attention to recall the memory of when it had happened exactly though. "There's not really any way we can prove either theory unless something turns up in the news or on the net."

"The NSA might know more than they're releasing to the press. There's nothing on the Noesis, but we know that it happened."

"Unless the NSA or the government decides to release that information, we still don't have any leads."

"Or…" Ro said slyly, "…if someone hacks into the system to see if they really are hiding any of that information."

"I could do that if I had access to one of their computers. The closest one always seems to be the NSA vehicle that Bennet follows us around in. We could come up with some scheme where I could sneak inside and search their database archive…" Zee suggested. He, himself, didn't think that it was a very smart plan. Every time they went near the feds he greatly increased his chances of getting caught. They kept on coming up with new inventions that made close encounters harder and harder to escape from. But, if Ro had thought up of the idea, then it usually turned out to be a good one.

"I was thinking more along the means of an underground operation."

Zee was thinking. "Underground… Does she mean sneaking into the NSA building through an underground shaft or tunnel? Or does she mean something more along the lines of using the back door?"

Ro could see that he had the clueless robot expression on his face, but was going to let him have one more minute to think before she humiliated him. He was really smart. Sometimes it just took him a while to sort things out from the robot world to the human world. "You mean you'd actually ask Bucky for help?" 

"Why not? He owes us for letting him tag along all of the time. Besides, I'm sure he would love to try." 

Ro had finished her drink a while ago. She disposed of the cup in the trashcan on their way out of the door from the Ground Wire. They'd find a vidphone booth somewhere, and would drop Bucky a line. "So why is it that Bucky can get into these high security sites from any computer, and you have to use one of the NSA's own computers?" Ro asked as they walked down the street. 

Zee began a confessional, apologetic styled conversation, "My processing speed is at an optimum bandwith, but unfortunately, I still haven't mastered the skills to carry out such endeavors like Bucky." While he was a super computer with excellent processing capabilities, it seemed unfair that a thirteen year old boy was more skilled at finding ways to access secure sites than he was. Zee was sure that Ro looked down upon him for his inferiority in that area. 

"I don't care that he's better about hacking into sites than you," she consoled him, "Actually… I don't care as long as you still have that unlimited cred card," she teased him. "No, really. Why? How is it that your super computer skills can't find their way into the NSA's database unless you use one of their computers? I thought you could decrypt any code or password."

Zee was relieved to hear that she didn't think less of him. However, he might have rather have settled with his confession rather than having to think of an answer to her difficult question. After processing the question for a second or two, he thought of an explanation—Hopefully one simple enough for Ro to understand. "The internet is actually special script sent in the form of a digital signal that a computer decodes and translates into the words and images on your computer screen. The rules and codes for the script are different than what is conventionally programmed into mechanical consoles used for door locks, and security safe locks. I was not programmed to receive and interpret such signals, or to translate them into meaningful information. While at a computer, I can download the information that has already translated by the computer."

"Then how does Bucky do it?"

"Bucky knows the back doors of computer programming that allows him to program his computer to recognize, then bypass the part of the signal that says not to allow any unselect individual to access the information."

"When they programmed you they definitely forgot to include that software package," Ro commented.

"The semi-synthetics might have been programmed with such capabilities, when internet hacking was later realized to be a crucial skill, as well as a huge benefit."

"But they're all at the bottom of the ocean… And I don't think anyone's bothered to set up a Ground Wire down there."

"You know… Having Bucky try to access the NSA site will only be useful if they've posted the information on the net. They may just have such information circulating through the network only. In which case, we'd still need access to one of their computers."

"Knowing our luck…"  They didn't say anything else, as they'd finally found a vid phone. Zee swiped his card through then Ro punched the numbers. Bucky's face appeared on the screen. 

"You guys again?" he asked.

"We've got a favor to ask you," Ro said casually.

"So you're asking me for help?" he said slyly. "Man, I was just waiting for this day to come," he smirked, as he leaned back in his chair. "So, you guys need me?" 

"Don't flatter yourself. We need your help getting into the NSA website."

Bucky perked up. This sounded interesting and dangerous, as well as fun. "What for?" he asked, trying not to sound too interested. 

"We can discuss things further over dinner or something. I don't feel comfortable talking about this on the phone," Ro told him. Some loitering pedestrian could be someone listening in on their conversation. "How about you meet us for dinner at 6:00 at that new Japanese restaurant they opened up downtown?" They would be able to have a more private conversation at the restaurant then they would out in the middle of the street. 

"How can I refuse a free meal?" he said, then hung up the phone. 

"Well, that's that," Ro said, hanging up the phone as well. Things were on their way to getting better. 

Agent Bennet brooded at his desk. How as it that an outstanding agent such as himself was still synthoid-less. How had be not managed to capture Zeta by now? Whenever they were close to apprehending him he'd always manage to slip out of their grasp. What were they doing wrong? The fact that he hadn't yet retrieved Zeta was beginning to spread around among the other agents. There were hints of rumors that Lemack thought him incompetent, and that someone else might be replacing him if he didn't' turn up something soon. He needed a break, badly. 

His phone began to beep. He was receiving a call. He reached over and pressed the "on" button. It was the office receptionist from the first floor. It was rather strange for her to be calling him. He didn't have his own secretary, but he did have other agents to run messages for him, or to take phone calls. There was no need for her to be contacting him in person.  

"Sorry to interrupt you sir, but I have an important message," the receptionist politely informed him.

He actually felt welcoming toward the break.  Sometimes he felt like he was slowly and unknowingly driving himself insane when he exhausted himself to the point of creating his own headaches by thinking about the case too often or too deeply.  "An important message is far more important than the disruption of work. What is it?" he asked. He was wishing with all of her might that she was going to say that someone else had finally captured Zeta and had him detained, as well as the fact that they were waiting for him to arrive to finish up with taking care of things. But that was a little too hopeful. Maybe she had some form of news regarding Zeta's exact location. He could then hope that that location was within ten miles of where he was now, and that there were already agents on their way…

"Dr. Marcus Edmund wishes to see you."

"What?" Bennet asked, astonished. The name was very familiar with him. It was the scientist that supposedly had leaked the information regarding the hidden location of Selig's lab to Brother's Day. He was the scientist that had been filed missing for the past few months. He was the one that was possibly going to be charged with treason against the US government. This same man wanted to see him?  Bennet couldn't believe that he was not dreaming. This could be the break he was hoping for. If he were able to establish communication with this rogue scientist, he might be able to regain some of Lemack's confidence again, and improve his reputation among the other officers.

"Does he want me to meet him somewhere?" Bennet asked. 

"Actually, he's here."

He was here. Right here in the building. "You can tell him that he may come see me in my office here, or wherever pleases him." He had to be really careful with how he worded his reply. Edmund might get scared of the crimes charged against him and might decide to flee from the building before he ever got to speak with him. However, as he was making the initial step to communicating with him, he must have already thought of that, and must have an idea of what the consequences of his actions, and his coming to the NSA headquarters is.

"Yes," the receptionist acknowledged, and hung up the phone.  She was very curious to know why Edmund wanted to speak with Bennet, but knew it was not her place to ask. She was vaguely informed with the occurrences that went on inside of the NSA, but had a very low level clearance. Most of the information she heard was through gossip and not an actual notification. She might never hear about what their conversation was about, which would be rather disappointing as she was extremely curious. 

Dr. Edmund had been waiting patiently on the other side of the lobby while she had been making the call. He was wearing a tattered coat, and a pair of pants that had holes in the knees. His hair was matted, and he has a small beard growing. He didn't look very dignified or professional. He almost looked like a homeless person.

 "Agent Bennet said that he will see you in his office, or wherever is convenient for you."

"That will be fine. Thank you."

"He's on the seventh floor, Suite A, room 716"

"Thank you," he said again. He walked to the elevator, and pressed the "UP" button. There was no one inside, which is what he'd hoped for. He didn't want anyone to recognized him. He hadn't really wanted to tell the receptionist his name either, but he'd been sure Bennet wouldn't accept a conference with just anyone who walked in the door.  He pushed the button for the seventh floor. The elevator began to rise quickly. Each time it passed a floor, it let of a little "ding" sound. It slowed down then stopped at the seventh floor, and the doors opened. No one was in the corridor. He almost expected an ambush to come out and swarm him… He hurried to the door labeled Suite A, and walked through. There no security clearance needed to get around this floor of the building, even though there were locks on the doors. The floors higher up needed a key card inserted into the terminal in the elevator for it to travel there.  He made his way down the hall with the numbered doors, until he got to the one numbered 716. 

Bennet paced around his room. He didn't know if he should contact someone and tell them that Edmund wanted to speak to him, or if he should just quickly set up a silent bug in his office somewhere. Then again, he might not be meeting in his office. Edmund might want to meet him elsewhere. If he left the security of the NSA building, he might be prone to some plot Edmund had concocted with Brother's Day. After all, Edmund had dealt with terrorists before. Who was to say that he wasn't doing them a favor by leading him out of the building, unsuspecting and unaware? His phone rang, so he returned to his desk, and pushed the button to turn it on. It was the receptionist again. 

"He's coming up to meet you in your office now," she told him then hung up. She was too busy to talk. 

He was coming to his office. Anything he was going to do had to be done soon. Then again, it was a useless ambition to begin with. He didn't keep any useful hardware or equipment in his office to begin with. A minute later, there was a soft knock at his door. This was it. "Come in," he said in a professional tone.

Upon hearing the welcoming voice, Dr. Emdund let himself into the room. Bennet couldn't believe his eyes. He was a little surprised. Dr. Edmund looked like he hasn't slept indoors for a month. He whole appearance was rather unkempt and dirty. Nothing like what he'd expect from a scientist.  

Dr. Edmund recognized Bennet immediately. He shut the door behind him. Bennet stood up and went over to him to shake his hand. It would be a small test to see if he were really human, without being as flagrantly distrustful by holding up a pair of holoviewers.  As Edmund extended his hand, and he shook it, Bennet could distinctly feel the warmth and texture of a human hand. Whoever this person was, it wasn't Zeta, or another synthoid, so he should be safe. 

"Have a seat," Bennet offered, returning to his seat.  He was wondering what might possibly have happened to him that would have put him in this condition. 

"Thank you," he replied politely. He took his coat off, and set it down in the chair next to him. The coat was not the same as the one he'd been wearing, but was a bright white, clean scientist's lab coat. Dr. Edmund reached for his wrist, then in a second, he was no longer the homely looking person who had walked into the room, but the person Bennet had seen in pictures from prior months, "Sorry for the disguise, but I assure you it was necessary."

All Bennet could think was that he'd better be doing some explaining while he was here. He wanted to know wanted to know especially, out of all people that he could have spoken to, why him? What really went on between him and Brother's Day? "I know that I'm putting myself, as well as everyone in this building in danger my coming here, but I didn't know what else to do, or where else to go," Edmund started.

"Everyone in the building?" Bennet thought. It sounded rather serious indeed if his presence was affecting the safety of everyone in the National Security Building. He had to listen attentively to make sure that he didn't miss a single detail. Edmund might be trying to communicate something to him between the lines, which he had to be listening for. 

Edmund continued, "I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of running—I have information regarding the organization known as Brother's Day  as well as information that led up to the destruction of the Noesis which I'm willing to relay in exchange for the government's protection."

So… he wanted to make a deal for his safety. That's why he was here. Bennet paused to think for a moment. His silence and stern expression made Edmund sit on the edge of his chair. He didn't have the least clue how well things were going to go over by his coming here. But, he had to try. 

Bennet was contemplating the new situation he was faced with--it wasn't government policy to deal or make deals with terrorists, or their accomplices. But, Edmund was not any regular accomplice. He was an ex-government employee, which had to mean something… Edmund knew how the system worked. Surely, he must know that Bennet wouldn't be able to settle anything with him because of the policy… Then why had be bothered to come?  He also still wondered why he had come to him. Treason was usually dealt with by authorities with more standing, such as Lemack. This wasn't just an issue in the NSA… this was treason against the whole country. Who was he to be speaking with Edmund about matters such as this? The silence had been a little too long, so he spoke what was foremost on his mind. 

"Being an ex employee here, you know that the NSA doesn't make deals with terrorists, or that we don't respond to threats."

"I know my association with Brother's Day was wrong, and what I helped them do was even worse, but please, you have to understand. I had no choice! They've got people everywhere! There was no way I could have escaped them. Now that the Noesis is gone I've managed to avoid coming in contact with them, but I don't know how long I can hide. 

"Maybe the only reason I've been successful is because they think I died on the Noesis in the explosion so they haven't been looking for me? Or maybe they're just waiting until they have another assignment they want me to do for them, before they start trying to find me! I don't know if they might want to make further use of me, or if they'll start looking for me to dispose of me so I can't tell you the things I'd learned while being forced to work for them. You have to believe me. I never wanted to get involved with them. They found me. I tried to get out, but they have people everywhere. There's no way you can hide from them. They might even have had someone watching me when I came here, which would mean that everyone in this building was now in danger!"

Bennet could see the truthfulness in his arguments, but he could also distinguish the exaggerations that were a result from Edmund's fear for his own life.  But what could he do? He couldn't grant him clemency. He was fairly certain that Edmund was telling the truth, but there was always the possibility that he was making the story up because he was afraid of the consequences from his previous dealings. If he hadn't given the coordinates for Dr. Selig's lab to Brother's Day, it would still exist, and Dr. Selig would still be alive. 

Edmund could see that things weren't sitting well with Bennet. He could imagine how much worse things could turn out of he were dealing with one of the superior members of the department. His voice quivering now, he added, "As I mentioned before, I have information regarding…"

Bennet cut him off. "I'm well aware of that Doctor. But, as much as your story sound sensible, I am not one to pardon you, or to decide your fate. Sweet has already supplied us with information regarding the event. While he has not given us the finer details of the organization, there is still plenty of information to incriminate him, as well as press charges against you for treason. I'm sorry. I don't think there's anything I can do."

Edmund sighed. He's suspected that nothing would come of this meeting.  He might as well just continue to hide from the organization for the rest of his life… Only, that wasn't an option now. Bennet would most certainly detain him as was his duty… "There is one more thing then…" Edmund led into his last resort. It was the entire reason he'd come to Bennet rather than some other authority. "The robot… Zeta… The one you were after…"

He most definitely had Bennet's attention now. "Go on," he pried.

"He was on the sub, with Brother's day."

"I knew it!" Bennet shouted. This confirmed everything that he'd suspected from the beginning. Or did it?

 There was still the unresolved, puzzling mystery of why Selig had really given Zeta a conscious chip, and what were his "other plans" that he'd had in mind for Zeta?  If the postulate that Zeta really did have a conscious was true, then did that mean that he was willingly working for Brother's Day? Or maybe the theory that Brother's day and Selig were working for the same cause was correct… It made sense to him that Selig could have been working with Brother's Day. This would mean that Selig's sole purpose in creating Zeta was so that Zeta would eventually help to destroy all other the other synthoids… But then what had Selig meant by, "Shame. I had plans for that one."? He couldn't have meant that his plans were to destroy the Noesis, as at the time he didn't seem to think that his life was threatened or that he would have to evacuate soon as it would be destroyed momentarily. Or maybe Selig and Sweet were working for the same cause but weren't from the same organization. Could there be another anti-synthoid group somewhere?   Also, using synthoids was not something that the Brother's Day organization approved of… or maybe they made this one exception as it served a greater, more evil purpose?

Edmund could guess at what was going through Bennet's head. He had to stop him from taking things the wrong way before he became too diluted in his success. "Zeta was only on the submarine, because he was doing me a favor… By taking my place, I would be safe and away from Brother's Day, while he fooled them into thinking that I had never deviated from their mission. Even Sweet doesn't know that it really wasn't me on that sub.  I don't believe that he was responsible for letting Sweet get onboard the Noesis as I know you think he is.  I'm sure that he must have tried to stop him somehow. If not, the girl with him surely must have tried something. He's not the killer you think he is."

"The point of the matter is that it did happen. And, I'd like to add that it's not my position to decide who's to blame. I may yet be able to speak with Colonel Lemack about your situation though, as you certainly have enlightened me with some new information. If I am not too bold to say… this information might also help to alleviate some of the charges against you. If you are willing to confess this information again in a court, you may not be exempt from other repercussions, but you may also then qualify to become a candidate of the Witness Protection Program…" Bennet suggested. He understood now why Edmund had come to him. Edmund knew how badly he wanted Zeta. By telling him this information, Edmund knew he would be obligated to plead on his behalf for Lemack to hear his case. He would have to say that he believed Edmund's story, as that was the only way to further place the blame on Zeta. 

Edmund felt his stomach untie itself from the knot it had been coiled up in ever since he'd resolved to try and appeal his case to Bennet. But… now a new knot was forming; a knot caused by his guilty conscious. Bennet wasn't going to speak with Lemack because he believed his story, or to be nice. He was only doing it because it helped him to further convict Zeta as a danger to national security.  Did he really want to help to frame Zeta in exchange for his own safety? He couldn't simply tell himself that he didn't owe Zeta anything. He owed a great deal to him. He might have died if he had been the one on the submarine instead… But, he'd been hiding for a long time. He was tired of it. He wasn't like Zeta where he was running away with someone else. He didn't have unlimited funds, or someone to keep him company. He'd already suffered by giving up everything he already owned. He didn't have much to lose by joining the program. He would only regret that Bennet and Lemack were going to make the most out of what they could of the poor, innocent synthoid. 

"I am willing to testify if, and only if, I am promised safety."

"From the sound of things, it should be easy… But, are you aware that if you enter the Witness Protection Program you'll have to leave everything behind?"

"I'm well aware."

Bennet didn't think he'd grasped the measure of the decision he was making. "Your name, your identity, all connections with past friends or family…"

"I've been hiding for months already. I haven't been in contact with anyone. I'm prepared to testify in court."

"Then I'll go ahead and try to send word to see if Colonel Lemack can meet me for a meeting where I might discuss this with him. If you'd like to wait here in my office, it will only take a minute," Bennet offered. Colonel Lemack was a man of importance. All communication with him had to be done through a secure, and encoded line. While his office phone had some security measure provided for anti-bugging, they were not enough for him to be able to call Lemack with.  He'd have to go find a more secure phone in the building to call him from. 

"Yes, I'll wait here," Edmund said in a rather timid voice. The thought of being left a lone in his office was a little frightening, but he was sure that he was in a safe place now. 

Bennet turned off his computer, then stood up from his desk. He almost didn't trust leaving Edmund alone in his office. What if he just wanted him to leave the room so that he could hack into the files on his computer? He was fairly sure that his personal security password would prevent him from gaining access to his computer. Then again, Edmund had been able to get into the Sub Rosa terminal disguised as Selig, which was a pretty admirable task considering the high security that was over there. While he did have some security clearance, he doubted that even if Edmund were to get into his computer, he would have new access to information that he hadn't had before when he was working for the government.  In fact, Edmund had had more clearance than what Bennet had now. He felt better knowing this, and hurried out of his office. 

Bennet had to travel up two floors before he found a secure phone line. He called the number to reach Colonel Lemack. As expected, Lemack's secretary answered the phone. She made him go answer a few questions so that she could look up his profile on her computer before she would even give him a moment to state his business.

"What can I do for you, Agent Bennet?" she asked, reading his name from her computer screen. 

"I need to speak with Colonel Lemack about an important, confidential matter. "

If she were to let every single agent who claimed that their business was highly important have a consultation with Lemack, he'd never get his real job done because he'd be on the phone all of the time. It was her job to query the agent's problems then filter out be could dealt with by a lower officer and what actually deserved his attention. It would be hard to decide in Bennet's case, as he'd said that the matter was confidential.  
            "You can tell him that this regards the Brother's Day activities relating to the Noesis's ruin and the recovery project of Infiltration Unit Zeta," Bennet hinted. He didn't exactly say that Edmund was in his office right at that second, but did give her enough information to make his cause sound important.

Lemack's secretary thought, "Two big items. I guess I'll run it by him and see if he wishes to hear his case."

"Let me see if he's available. Please hold on for a moment," she announced.

The screen went white, then displayed the NSA logo while she put him on hold to see if she could get in contact with Lemack. Sometimes he would be in meetings all day long and she wouldn't be able to get a hold of him. If a matter was really important, then she would overhead page him in the meeting, but usually everything that was passed by her on the phone onto her was too trivial to be that rude to interrupt the meeting like that.  He wasn't schedualed in any meeting right now, so she paged his office phone. 

After several rings, he picked up. "Colonel Lemack," he said shortly. 

"Agent Bennet is on line five. He says that he wishes to speak with you about some matter regarding, ' Brother's Day activities relating to the Noesis's ruin and the recovery project of Infiltration Unit Zeta,'" she quoted Bennet exactly.

"Put him on," Lemack said. This news sounded big.

"Yes, sir." Her face disappeared from the screen, then reappeared on Bennet's screen. "I'll connect you now," she said. Bennet would have been surprised if Lemack had decided not to hear him, but not if Lemack was currently doing something else more important. Lemack's secretary's image was replaced by the stern face of the Colonel of the National Security Agency. 

"Bennet," he said brusquely. "I hear you have some interesting news for me."

"Very interesting. Sir,  Dr. Marcus Edmund is in my office now, even as we speak. He has new information about Brother's Day and Zeta's role about the Noesis event. He's willing to confess this information in a court in exchange to be granted protection from the Brother's Day organization."

"That's absurd! Why would he need protection from his own kind?"

"It's a long story. One that would be understood better if heard in person. I myself thought him crazy to be asking for such a thing until I heard his perspective on the matter."

Lemack considered the matter for a moment, "I'll agree to hear his case. But it will have to be tonight. I'll be attending other more important matters for the next few weeks to follow and won't have time then."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem. Where should we meet you?"

Colonel took on a rather casual tone of voice as he suggested, "There's a new restaurant that's opened across town from the post that I'll be visiting this afternoon in Hillsdale.  The reviews have all said that it's the place to go for authentic Japanese cuisine. The name of the restaurant is Ikebana. I'll be able to meet you there at around seven thirty."

"Sir, wouldn't the post be more appropriate?"

"The doctor is probably on edge already. This will be a nice environment

where he can calm his nerves and not feel pressured as he's explaining himself."

"What about recording equipment?"

"Bennet. You shouldn't have had to ask. We can worry about recording _publicly_ in court later."

"Yes, sir," Bennet said, thinking himself a moron for having asked the question, and especially for having Lemack comment on the fact that he had. He was doing a poor job at showing that he wasn't nervous. From the emphasis Lemack put on the word "publicly" he'd hinted that he would be wearing a recording device on him during the dinner. Not letting the subject know that they were being recorded, which was also less expected in a public area such as a restaurant, they might reveal important information that they wouldn't reveal in a more private area where they might suspect that they are being recorded.

"Good," Lemack said, then hung up the phone. 

Bennet hung up the phone and returned to his office. Fortunately Edmund was still there and hadn't run off while he was gone. Nothing on his desk appeared to have been touched or moved.  "Good news. The colonel has agreed to listen to your case over dinner tonight. We'll be meeting him at a restaurant that's just opened in Hillsdale."

"It's so… public." He didn't know how to express his surprise or disappointment that it wasn't going to be in a safe place such as Bennet's office or another NSA building. 

"Yes, Lemack will be visiting a post in that area this afternoon. It was his recommendation. We'll have to leave shortly in order to meet him there." 

Anytime that he was out in public there was a risk that one of Brother's Day's thugs might recognize him. He didn't necessarily want to be out in the open just yet. 

Bennet could see that this seemed upsetting to Edmund so he continued, "Lemack will be busy with other business for the following weeks. This is the only free night he'll have for a while."

Edmund didn't think that he could stand to extend his worry and anticipation any longer. He'd go to the dinner, just to get this over with, even though it wasn't his first place choice.  "What kind of food does the restaurant serve?" he asked, trying to sound optimistic.

Ro's teeth chattered as they waited outside of the restaurant.  Zee wished that his coat were real so that he could wrap it around Ro's shoulders. She had a light jacket on, but nothing that would substantially keep her warm.  "You sure you don't want to wait inside?" he suggested.

"It's too crowded. Besides, I don't want to miss Bucky. I want to be there the exact minute he arrives…" It was 6:30 already. They'd tried to contact him several times, but the people he was staying with had said that he'd left already. There usually wasn't enough traffic to delay someone this long at this time of the night. Ro kept on worrying that he was waiting at another restaurant somewhere for them, thinking the same things. She hadn't really stated the restaurant's  name on the phone, but then how many Japanese restaurants were opening in the downtown area?  Ro hadn't even known the name when she'd called Bucky. She knew the name now as they were standing right under the illuminated sign that read, "Ikebana." The sign was actually written in Japanese Kanji and had an image of a small flower on it as well. Zee had informed Ro that the name meant "flower arranging," in Japanese. He'd known this from the basic languages he'd been programmed to understand as they would have been useful in one of his infiltration missions.  He'd even done some research on Japanese etiquette and tea ceremonies prior to making the reservation. Thanks to his explanation, Ro would not be wondering why they had a flower for their logo for the entire dinner-- that was if Bucky ever showed up and they got seated. 

The restaurant was very popular, even though it wasn't part of an already established chain of Japanese restaurants. It was gaining publicity and a reputation very quickly. All of the newspapers had given it high reviews, as well as stating that this was the place to go for an authentic Japanese dinner. The restaurant would also perform special tea ceremonies upon request. Zee had made them a reservation for a _sadou_and a regular dinner. Sadou was the Japanese word for tea ceremony. It's translation was, "the way of tea." Casey had been the person who had first recommended that Ro eat there sometime. He'd also been one of the first people to eat in the restaurant as he'd been one of the reporters who were going to write a review on the restaurant. He'd exclaimed that this was one of the best articles he'd ever had the opportunity to research and write about. He strongly emphasized the "research" part of it. 

There was a large crowd of people waiting inside of the restaurant in the front area. Several had made reservations in advance, but were still waiting for a table. Others, were waiting on call for another table to open. Zee had made their reservations early, and their table had been ready twenty minutes ago, but as Bucky hadn't arrived yet they hadn't sat down. Their waitress had told them that they would hold the table another ten minutes but if Bucky didn't show up they'd have to give their table away as there were a lot of people waiting. 

"He'd better get here soon," Ro muttered, her shivering slightly. 

Zee offered again, "Why don't you wait inside. I'll stay out here and watch for Bucky. You could make sure that they don't give our table away as well."

It would really stink to have waited so long to have their table given away so Ro consented to go inside. She was about to go inside when a yellow cab pulled up and Bucky stepped out. He paid the driver, then walked up to Ro and Zee.

"What took you so long?" Ro demanded in a scolding tone.

"I took the long way around to getting here. Never know when someone might be following me."

"You think someone would be following you?" Ro scoffed.

"If the feds find me, I don't have any more places left to go like you guys. Besides, I wouldn't just be getting myself in trouble. They've got good reasons to bust every single one of us in the Underground Network—mainly for hacking into every top secret government branch on the web," he snickered.

"Oh, brother," Ro sighed. She also didn't think that they had "more places to go" like he thought they did. But, when they didn't have a home, everywhere was another place to go, so there was some sense in his claim. "Good thing you took a cab rather than a bus. They'd have no way of finding out where you got off of if you took a cab," she added sarcastically.

"Yeah, but you can't tip the bus driver extra to say that you got off somewhere else, can you?"

Zee commented, "It doesn't hurt to be careful, but next time you should leave sooner. We were here a whole half hour before you."

"Consider it payback for all of those times you were late meeting me because Ro took too long getting ready," he said nonchalantly.

Ro glared at him, but didn't turn the matter into an argument because their time was running out before the restaurant would give their table away. "Well now that you're here, we'd best go inside and claim our reservation."

Zee went up to the two large glass doors and pulled one open for Ro and Bucky. He then went up to the waiter who was handling the reservations. "Three for, "Smith."

"Your table is ready," he informed them. "Naoko your hostess will be with you in a moment."

"Good, I'm hungry," Ro commented, taking off her jacket. It was plenty warm, even cozy, inside of the restaurant. 

Soon a young Japanese woman came up to them, dressed in a beautiful kimono.  She greeted them by bowing several times, then smiled as she said, "Watashi ni tsuiteki tekudasai."

"What did she just say?" Ro whispered to Zee.

"She wants us to _please_ follow her," Zee translated. The woman's gestures had made it apparent that they were to follow her, but Ro couldn't help but think that she was making fun of them in Japanese for being foreigners. 

Naoko led them to a wall of rice paper. Ro figured that the only way that she could tell what parts were doors, and what parts were walls was because she worked here everyday. Naoko slid one of the doors open.  Inside of  the small room there was a very low table off to the side of the room, and several mats and thin cushions in the center. No wonder it was so hard to get seating. They weren't just reserving a table for each party, they had to reserve a whole room! Or maybe the people just eating didn't need such a big room to be seated in. There were lanterns hung above them that illuminated the room with incandescent lighting. The atmosphere was very nice.

"If you would take off your shoes, please," Naoko spoke to Zee, Ro, and Bucky. Her English was very good, and her accent wasn't too noticeable. Ro was impressed as she was sure that Japanese was the woman's first language. 

Naoko began to pour some water into a large kettle that was hanging over a coal pit in the middle of the room, giving the guests an opportunity to take off their shoes. Some of the people who came in wore shoes that took a long time to take off. There was no point in wasting time, waiting for them when she could be heating the water. 

A worried expression came over Zee's face. He didn't really have shoes.  Ro seemed to have noticed his anxiety as well.  She watched him begin to slide his foot out of his shoe. Ro could see the holographic projection of his shoe, and his foot coming out. Zee had creatively kept up an image of a sock over his foot as he pulled it out of his imaginary shoe. However the instant that his foot was all the way out of his "shoe" the shoe disappeared. There was no pointing in pretending to really be taking his foot out of the other one. The image of his shoe disappeared. In it's place Zee was now wearing socks. 

Ro had already pulled her shoes off, not bothering to unlace them as Bucky was doing for his. She quickly set them down and threw her jacket over them. When Bucky finished taking his shows off, she hid his shoes under her jacket as well. If they couldn't see that there weren't three pairs of shoes under her jacket, no one would become suspicious as why only two of them had shoes.

"Thanks," Zee said, as he looked at her jacket, which was very lumpy from the shoes underneath.

"Anytime," she replied sweetly.

Naoko looked up from the water kettle when she saw that they were ready. She got up and closed the rice paper door behind them.  Next, she invited them to come and sit around the coal pit. 

Ro knelt on the mat around the coal pit, tucking her feet under her, following Naoko's example. Zee then knelt beside her, then Bucky. It was so exciting. They would actually be participating in a tea ceremony!  

"Will you like the traditional Moccha tea, or would you like another tea for the tea ceremony?" she asked. 

Ro thought that this was a question that would best be posed to someone who was familiar with the ceremony and what other options were appropriate. 

"What are the other teas?" she asked.

Naoko pulled a laminated list from a small box that was on the floor behind her, and handed it to Ro to look over. The list read:

Sencha 

Bancha

Barely tea

Brown-rice tea

Oolong tea

Seaweed tea

Moccha

"What are they?" Ro asked Zee. 

Zee enlightened her, "Sencha is a good-quality green tea. Bancha is an everyday coarser green tea. Barely tea is usually served, chilled in the summer. Brown-rice tea has popcorn-like bits of puffed rice. Oolong tea is also usually served chilled in the summer, and seaweed 'tea' is actually powdered seaweed. All are used in common offerings, but Moccha is the one that is mainly used in the tea ceremony. It's also a popular ice cream flavor." 

"We'll take the mocha," Ro mispronounced the name, even though Zee had said it correctly.

Naoko smiled, "You are very knowledgeable," she told Zee. He beamed slightly. Score one more brownie point for him. Bucky hadn't known anything about the teas, as shown by the vacant expression on his face.

The water was still heating, so Naoko began to prepare the cups which she would be pouring the tea in.  She set out three cups, carefully placing the prettiest side of the cups so that they faced her guests. As Zee knew he wouldn't be drinking any tea he politely told her, "occha ga nigate desu."

She responded by removing one of the tea cups and placing it off to the side. She didn't seem offended in the least bit. In fact, she was impressed that he could speak Japanese.

"What did you tell her?" Bucky whispered behind Ro's back to Zee, while she began the careful preparation of laying out the tea making tools. Arranging the utilities in an aesthetic way is an important preparation for the tea ceremony. There was actually a special relation between the used utilities and the season. Not even some of their Japanese guests picked up on this small detail. Zee did, however, and smiled to himself. He wouldn't bother Ro with the boring details though. 

"Quite literally, that I'm bad a tea," he whispered in reply.

"What a strange language," Bucky thought.

When the water was near hot, Naoko picked up the small  jar that had the moccha in it. She held the jar out so that Ro could see what was inside of the jar. Inside was the fine green powder, that was the tea. She then pulled out a special spoon to scoop out the moccha with. It didn't actually look like a spoon at all. It was a thin stick with a curved end. It was completely flat, and tapered to a point. She scooped out a little bit of the moccha and sprinkled it into the water. She repeated this process two more times. For the amount of water that was in the kettle, Ro didn't think she was putting enough tea powder in. But, she was not the one conducting the ceremony.

Naoko pulled the kettle away from the coals so that it could begin to cool down. She then reached into the box and pulled out another weird tool. It was a small whisk, with dozens of spokes for beaters. The spokes were very thin and  were rounded to resemble the shape of a pear. The inside of the whisk was hollow. Ro imagined that hours of work went into making such a device. It was clearly hand carved and not made by a machine. 

Naoko began to mix the tea into the water with the special tea ceremony whisk. She then used a ladle, with a long handle to pour the tea into the two cups. She placed the cups in front of Ro, then Bucky. She then reached into the box and pulled out two items that were wrapped in a think sheet of paper, and handed them to Bucky and Ro. "What is this?" Ro asked, as she began to unwrap the object. She didn't bother to ask if she open it before she'd started taking the paper off of it. The object inside of the wrapper was a cookie. 

"Most Westerners find moccha to be very bitter. You may want to take a bite of the cookie before or after you take a drink," Naoko informed her.

Both she and Bucky were having seconds thoughts about the tea now. Ro had never been a real big tea drinker before coming here. She preferred hot chocolate as a warm beverage to tea or coffee. Not having an acquired taste for tea already, she was sure now that she was in for a new experience.  She took a nibble off of the cookie then set the cookie down and picked up the tea cup with both her hands. She had a quick though, and rotated the cup so that the pretty design now faced their hostess. Shouldn't she get to look at the beautiful design as well? 

Ro took a small sip. It was absolutely bitter. The nibble of the cookie hadn't been enough. She picked up the cookie and shoved the whole thing into her mouth. Naoko couldn't help but giggle along with Bucky who was hysterically laughing. They were ruining the mood of the tea ceremony, but this was a restaurant and they weren't actually in Japan. Naoko reached into the box and pulled out another package. It was labeled, "Pokki." She opened it then held it out to Ro. Inside were chocolate filled sugar cone sticks. Ro took one and began to eat it quickly. The aftertaste of the moccha was leaving and was being replaced by something sweeter. This was much better.

"You big wuss," Bucky said, taking a big gulp of his moccha just to mock Ro by proving that he could handle it. The look that came over his face was priceless as his eyes started watering as he swallowed the drink. His pride didn't permit him to eat the cookie or one of the pokki sticks, even as badly as he wanted. Watching him finish the drink was a good compensation for having been insulted by him laughing at her. 

The tea ceremony was pretty much over now. Naoko left the kettle there, even though she knew that neither Ro not Bucky would be wanting seconds. She pulled out three menus from the box and handed them to Ro, Zee, and Bucky. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take your orders," she told them. "Would you like some green tea in the mean time?" she asked.

"Just water," Ro told her. She wasn't going to take any more chances. 

"Sounds good to me too," Bucky added.

"And you sir?" she asked Zee.

"Water will be fine for me too."

"Hai. You're welcome to move to the table if you'd like," she motioned towards the table and mats, then left the three of them, closing the rice door behind her.

"Did you know that it tasted that bad when you let me order it?" Ro asked Zee, as she got up from the mat on the floor. Her feet had been going numb from her sitting on them for so long. It felt really good to stand up.

"Not bad, just different."

Ro opened the menu. All of the dishes were in Japanese with their English name next to them, and a short description of what the dish was in English as well. 

"Look at this!" Bucky said, pointing to an item on the menu. "Nattou: fermented soy beans. No thank you."

Ro glanced over the menu. There was a large sushi bar, but that was something she could get practically anywhere. "See anything interesting?" Zee asked.

"There's plenty of stuff on here that looks interesting. Not necessarily appetizing, but interesting."

"Well, I'm ready," Bucky announced. They'd only  been looking over the menu for a minute or two. There was no possible way that he could have read through the entire thing in that amount of time.

"Already? You know what you want?" Ro asked him. She figured he must have already have made up his mind before they sat down.

"I'm going to get onigiri and tenpura."

They were common Japanese foods. He'd most definitely had made up his mind before they'd come. Ro continued to look over the menu. "Zee, why are there so many forms of rice?" she asked. The list of the different rice dishes was very long. She had expected that there would be a lot, but the list took up one whole page!

"Rice is a staple food in Japan. Most Japanese people eat it more than once a day. There's kome, which is uncooked rice. Mochi which is a soft rice paste. Gohan is cooked rice served in a bowl. Raisu is cooked rice served on a plate…"

"Okay, that's enough…" Ro stopped him. She was sure that he could go on for hours talking about the boring subject of the many names of rice.  "I think I'll try this umeboshi with rice dish thing with misou soup and the special flaming dumpling soup at the end." There wasn't much for the description of what umeboshi was, but as it was in the vegetable and rice dish group, she was sure that it couldn't be too bad. It sounded exotic even.

"I'll inform our hostess when she returns."

Naoko came back in a few minutes to take their orders. Zee ordered some of the dishes Ro had told him she wanted so that it didn't seem like he would be fasting, or to offend them by giving them the impression that he did not want to eat any of their food. He even showed off his skills by ordering in Japanese. She informed them that it would be a few minutes before the food was ready, and asked them to kindly wait. 

"So, what do you need me for?" Bucky asked, as took a large drink from his glass of water. He still couldn't get the taste out of his mouth. He figured that he'd bring up the subject before their food came. Then they'd be too busy eating to talk, or they might have forgotten why they'd come here in the first place.

"We'd like you to hack into the NSA files on the web and do a search on any information regarding Dr. Marcus Edmund."

"You're still looking for him?" Bucky asked.

"It's not like we've had any help or leads," Ro replied.

"Yeah, I could probably do that. What's a good time for you?" he asked.

"Soon, but we're not in any immediate hurry. We're actually worried that something might have happened to him though, so this isn't something you can put on the back burner."

"Man, I thought this was going to be something really important and top secret with how you were talking on the phone. If I'd known that this was it, I might have even walked here and saved myself the cab fare."

"What are you talking about? This is important! Dr. Edmund is the guy who's going to get us access to Dr. Selig's old files," Ro rebutted. She disliked how he was taking this so lightly, but was grateful that he was going to help.

"Too bad hid stuff isn't on the net. I would have had them for you already. I'm surprised you haven't just tried to get in there already."

He was referring to the SubRosa Terminal. Because of the high security clearance, Zee suspected that this was where they'd find information on Dr. Selig's old files, if there were any.  "The consequences of being caught are higher now, and too risky. If you don't find anything, then that may actually be our next step," Zee spoke up. Ro usually did a good job explaining everything that needed to be explained so he rarely felt a need to comment. 

"I'll see what I can do," Bucky said confidently even though the expression usually hinted at the person having some degree of diffidence.

In a few more minutes Naoko brought in all of their orders, except for the flaming dumpling soup, which was traditionally saved for last. Dessert was not commonly served, and it was not considered strange to have soup brought in rather than ice cream at the end of the meal. She set down three pairs of chopsticks, bowed then left them to eat. 

The chopsticks weren't the wooden kind that never broke in half evenly, or gave whoever was holding them splinters. They were made out smooth, polished wood and could be used several times again. At first Ro didn't want to use them as she was sure that several other people had used them before her, but then she used forks that had been in other people's mouths at other restaurants. She picked up her pair of chopsticks, holding them nearly halfway down from the top. Zee picked up his pair and began to play with them as he wouldn't be eating with them. 

His skill of using chopsticks was evident by the fact that he held them very close to the end, rather than in the middle like Ro, or at the point of the stick like Bucky. He showed off his skill by picking up single grains of rice at a time, then making a picture on his plate out of the dashed lines. 

Bucky was pleased with his meal and began to eat right away. Ro's soup was just as she'd expected it, but the umeboshi and rice was something else. The umeboshi were large shriveled clumps of something on her plate.

"Zee…just exactly what is umeboshi?" she asked warily.

"Pickled plums."

"I see…" It certainly didn't look as appetizing as the name had looked on the menu. She picked up one of them and brought it close to her nose. It certainly didn't smell very good. She wasn't sure if she wanted to eat it any longer. But, as she'd ordered it, she might as well try it. She bit down on the umeboshi and had an ambiguous moment where she didn't know if she wanted to spit out the large seed which was still in the center and finish eating what she'd started, or if she wanted to completely spit out the whole thing, regardless of the fact that it was rude to spit out something you'd already put in your mouth. It was like she'd just eaten a salt clump that had been saturated in vineagar. Pickles tasted a little bit like cucumbers, but this certainly didn't taste like anything but bitter salt and vinegar, least of all plums. She couldn't stand to have it in her mouth any longer. She spit it out into her napkin, even though the napkin was linen and not disposable, and grabbed two pokki sticks and ate them quickly. Bucky was laughing at her again. 

After that she didn't want to even touch the rice that was on the other side of the plate than the umeboshi. "You want some onigiri, seeing as you're not going to be finishing that?" he asked Ro. "They gave me a dozen of these thing, and I don't think I can finish them all," Bucky offered.

"Sure."

Using the wide end of his chopsticks, Bucky picked up one of the seaweed wrapped rice balls and extended it to Ro. Using her chopsticks, Ro took the seaweed ball from him.

"Uh…" Zee started to say, but then stopped himself. It was too late now. They'd already passed the rice ball between their chopsticks.

"What's wrong?" Ro asked him. 

"Passing food from hashi to hashi is against Japanese culture etiquette."

"Why's that?" she asked.

"It's how cremated remains are handled."

After hearing his explanation, she almost didn't want to eat it anymore.  "Anything else I should know, that you can tell me which won't ruin any more of my appetite?" she asked.

"Don't leave your chopsticks straight up in the bowl of rice when you finish. This is how offerings of rice are prepared before placing them on Buddhist altars."

"If that's it, then we should be good."

But that wasn't the end of the list, "Don't hold you chopsticks in one hand and pick up your drink with the other. Do not refill your own glass. Don't blow your nose at the dinner table…"

"That's one you shouldn't do at any style of restaurant or any table."

"Never pierce any food item with your chopsticks. Do not move bowls or dishes around with your chopsticks…."

"Okay, Zee. That's enough. What they don't see won't offend them, right?"

Naoko would open the door every now and then and ask if they needed more water, or if she could get them anything. Bucky asked for refill of his water glass once as he'd  drank most before he'd even been served his meal. He was careful to show his appreciation for having his water glass filled by raising it slightly as she filled it. 

When it appeared that they were finished eating, she asked if they'd like the dumpling soup brought in. Ro said that it would be fine. Naoko carefully cleared their plates. Ro had taken some of her umeboshi and rice and had dumped some of the remains on Zee's plate to make it seem like he had eaten as well. 

She didn't close the rice paper door behind her this time, but left it open. It let in a cool draft. The room they were in was at a warmer temperature than the rest of the restaurant because of the coal pit. In a minute, she came back into the room carrying a basin on a large platter. Underneath the basin on the platter was a flaming burner. The basin itself was surrounded by a gold filigree fence that held the basin over the flame. She carefully set down the large platter down in the middle of the table. She then left and returned with a clean set of bowls and spoons as well as a ladle.  She explained the symbolism of the dumpling soup to them as she removed the lid from the pot, "It is said that the more dumplings you have, the more good luck you will have in your life. The less dumplings, the more bad luck you'll have." There were tiny dumplings floating around inside of the soup along with some small diced carrots. The dumplings were really small bits of duck wrapped in a noodle-like substance in the shape of a duck. 

She then picked up one bowl and dipped the ladle into the soup, then poured it into one of the bowls. One scoop of the ladle filled up the bowl exactly to the top. She set the bowl in front of Zee. She picked up the second bowl and repeated the process of scooping the soup out of the basin then pouring it into the bowl. Ro couldn't' help but notice a nervous expression come over her face as she poured the soup into the bowl. Ro knew immediately what it meant. There were no dumplings in her soup. The bowl was already filled to the top. Ro could tell that Naoko was debating if she should try to fish out some dumplings from the basin and pour them in despite the fact that it would make the bowl overflow.  She dipped the ladle in a tiny bit, but there were not dumplings in this scoop either. Fate had decided that Ro was to have bad luck. She set the bowl in front of Ro, then continued to pour soup into Bukcy's bowl, and presented this to him as well. She bowed and left them to finish their meal, closing the door on the way out. 

Ro picked up her spoon and began to swirl the soup that was in her bowl. There was nothing in it. Actually, that wasn't true. There was a small carrot chunk in it.  Bucky began to count the number of dumplings in his soup. He was eating them as soon as he found them, rather than eating them with the soup.  "I've got eight," he announced proudly.  "How many did you get, Zee?"

Zee hadn't touched his soup yet, as he hadn't been planning on eating it, "I haven't counted yet," he said to Bucky. He stared at Ro as she fished around for anything in her soup with her spoon. There was nothing. He'd caught Naoko's nervous expression as well. "Do you want my soup?" he offered.

"She handed this one to me though…"

"Don't worry about the dumplings. It's just superstition. Here," he said, handing her his soup, and taking her bowl away from her.

"What if it's true?"

"Well… If you think about the fact that I don't eat. Technically this would be your bowl, and Bucky would have the one with nothing in it."

Bucky could see that Ro was fretting about the matter still. "She said those who didn't have a lot of dumplings would have bad luck. But you don't have _any_. Maybe it just means that you don't a fortune and you have to make your own?"

He was right. Why was she worrying about the soup? "I guess I could just have seconds," she surmised.

"Darn," Zee thought. Score one brownie point for Bucky. Why hadn't he thought of something creative like that?

Ro ate Zee's soup anyway, just because there was no point in ordering dumpling soup just to have broth flavored water.  Zee had had four dumplings in his soup. Maybe it meant that Bucky was going to find something on in the NSA files? When she and Bucky had finished, they divided Ro's untouched soup between their bowls. This would make it seem like they'd eaten all but the last spoonfuls of their soups. 

"Are we ready to leave?" Zee asked. 

"Yeah. If you see our hostess again, you can ask her for the check, " Ro told him. 

It was almost as if their waitress had been eaves dropping as the then popped in to see if there was anything else she could get them. "No, we're fine. But if you could get the check please?" Ro answered.

In a few seconds Naoko returned with the bill and a cred processing unit. Zee produced his card, and ran it through. He also included a rather large tip for Naoko, as he thought that her service had been exceptional.  She thanked then for coming to the restaurant, then left them to gather their things together.

            "I guess we're ready to go then," Ro said. 

            Bennet opened the car door for Dr. Edmund on the passenger side of his car. Edmund slid into the seat, then pulled the seat belt over his shoulder and locked it in place. He reached over and placed his lab coat in the back seat. It would be inappropriate for him to wear it inside of a nice restaurant. The clothes he was wearing now weren't what he'd have selected to wear if he'd known that they'd be going out to eat somewhere. However, his fashionability was the smaller things on his mind. He could always use his bracelet to portray some more formal clothes over his casual ones. 

  He was carefully watching every single movement that occurred within 100 feet of the car, or himself. He had built up a tolerance to the sore eye muscles and neck muscles he got from constantly looking around, but had not yet found a way to relax or to cope with the stress and anxiety that he generated from it.  Even though he knew to anticipate the sound of Bennet's door opening and closing on the driver's side, his eyes still darted over in the direction when he heard the sound.  

 "He sure is paranoid," Bennet thought as he sat down and buckled himself up then started the car. They would be driving to Hillsdale where they would meet Lemack outside of the restaurant. It would only take an hour or two to get there. 

Neither men spoke anything to each other while driving to the restaurant. It didn't seem proper for either of them to ask the other about anything business related as they would be discussing the topic at the restaurant, and neither felt comfortable asking the other about their personal life. 

Bennet turned into the Ikebana parking lot. There wasn't an empty space anywhere. He circled around several times, but there was no parking anywhere. "Seems that it's a little crowded tonight," he commented. As he was coming around to the front of the restaurant again, he noticed a couple leaving the restaurant through the exit door. He watched them as they started walking away from the restaurant. They were heading toward the parking lot. He began to follow them in his car. Luckily, they were returning to their car and weren't just going to get something from it. He waited behind their car while they started it and pulled out.  He didn't care that he was blocking everyone behind him. He was going to get this parking spot. A few cars coming the other direction noticed that the car was pulling out.  But, he'd already been waiting so as soon as the other car vacated it, it would be his. The instant that the car pulled out, he immediately took their spot. "For the hassle that we had to put up with parking, this place had better be good," Bennet grumbled as he turned off his car and began to lock up. 

Edmund unlocked his seat belt then carefully opened his own door, making sure not to hit the car next to him or scratch the paint on it. His nerves had begun to calm themselves on the car ride over, but now they were becoming tense again. There was a lot of activity going on, and it was a highly populated area. Anyone could recognize him. 

"It seems that Lemack is waiting for us at the front of the restaurant," Bennet commented. After driving around so many times in front of the restaurant, while looking for parking it would have been astonishing if Lemack hadn't recognized them from the several times that they passed by.

As much as Edmund wanted to just sit in the car and take back his offer to speak with the Colonel over dinner, he didn't but followed Bennet to the entrance of the restaurant.

"Glad you could make it," Lemack greeted them and shook each of their hands.  "It's really crowded in there, but I'm assured it's worth the wait. Even though I called in advance our table will be ready in about half an hour!"  Even though he had a position of high authority in his workplace, that didn't grant him seating in this restaurant above everyone else who was waiting before him. 

The way that he spoke made Edmund feel a little more relaxed. Lemack had a strong commanding voice, that clearly defined his authority yet still made him seem approachable and humble. Edmund's worries began to leave him. They were in a large public area. Brother's Day wouldn't dare to pull off anything out in the open like this. Besides, he was not being chaperoned by a mere agent, but _two _government _officers._ He felt much better after looking at the matter from this perspective. They would prevent anything from happening to him. He was safe. 

"As it's going to be a while, I suggest that we wait inside where it's warm," Lemack suggested.

Rather than making Lemack open the door himself, Bennet stepped forward and held it open for his superior and continued to hold it open out of courtesy for Edmund. It was a lot warmer inside of the restaurant, and a lot more crowded.  There were several people standing around, waiting for their table to be called. There were even more outside. Lemack guided them away from the door, toward the edge of the crowd. Edmund looked over the tables with people sitting at them. Not all the tables had their own private room. He secretly hoped that they had a room so that their conversation could be a little more private. 

Bennet engaged himself in conversation with Lemack while Edmund scanned the room. There were several interesting things going on. There were several waiters that were actually at the guest's tables preparing their food in front of them. At one table, there was a large pot. Edmund watched as the chef placed a large block of tofu in the middle of the pot.  He then brought out a fish tank on wheels, and reached with a net and scooped out three small eels. He dumped these eels in the pot with the tofu, then wheeled the aquarium off  to the side.  Then, he did the most horrific thing- he lit a fire under the pot.  Edmund couldn't bear to watch, so he looked around the rest of the room. They still had a while to wait before their table would be ready.  His attention was caught as a waitress carried a large platter out from the kitchen. The platter had a large basin on it, with a flame still burning underneath it. He began imagining what kind of lawsuits could occur if she were to accidentally drop the platter on herself, or on another guest. 

She was carrying the flaming platter toward one of the open doorways of the rooms. Edmund couldn't help but to peer inside of the room, curious to see who had ordered such a dish. He had a clear view into the room until the waitress blocked his view as she set down the platter and began serving the soup.  He rubbed his eyes, unsure if he'd seen correctly.  When he'd had a clear glance into the room he'd unmistakably seen a short-haired blonde teenage girl kneeling at the table.  She almost looked exactly like the one who had assisted Zeta with the Brother's Day mission. But it couldn't be them. Zeta was at least six feet tall. The boy next to her was shorter than she was, and several years younger. It couldn't be Zeta-unless- Zeta had holomorphed into the appearance of a younger boy. Edmund leaned over, and tried to look further into the room. With the waitress in the way, he absolutely couldn't see anything! Then the window, or door, of opportunity was closed when the waitress shut it behind her as she left.  On the rice paper wall of the room, Edmund could make out three distinct shadows of the people inside of the room. The figure in the middle was the girl, and the skinny figure with short hair on her other side was the boy, but who was the tall, masculine figure on her other side? He tried to listen to see if he could hear what they were saying. It was impossible to pick out their conversation from the noise of the other guests eating and the sounds of food being diced up on cutting boards in front of them as well. What if it was them? Hadn't he read something somewhere about there being a third accomplice? He was surprised that he hadn't had to be admitted to a hospital for an ulcer yet with all of the worrying he generated as his stomach began to knot itself up again. "It's nothing. Just a nice group of teenagers having dinner. It's nothing more."

He looked back over at the table with the pot of eels and tofu. The waiter had just picked up the entire block of tofu out of the pot and was beginning to cut it into large blocks, then was serving the blocks to one of the guests. As the temperature of the water in the pot had begun to rise the eels had begun to dig their way into the tofu, to escape the heat. They had been boiled alive inside of the block of tofu. He could see the dark spots in the dissected tofu which were the eels. "I need to go to the restroom," he excused himself, covering his mouth as he hurried off to the back of the restaurant where the restrooms were.

Bennet made a motion to follow him, but Lemack held his hand out to stop him. "You don't want me to follow him?" Bennet asked.

Lemack didn't say a word, but motioned to the table with the pot with his head. While Bennet didn't know exactly what he was referring to, he could guess well enough when he saw the , he saw the tofu with the dark chunks in it, with the tank of eels off to the side. 

After coming out of the bathroom, feeling slightly better, Edmund walked past the room that he'd see the platter being carried into. He walked just a little slower, hoping that he could listen in on their conversation as he walked by. He slowed down, but their voices were too quiet for him to hear what they were saying. He nearly tripped over a coat stand as he'd been concentrating so hard on listening and not where he was walking. He caught the coat stand before it fell over. He righted it back in its original position: next to two pairs of shoes. One pair was very masculine, yet small in size, and the other was neutral, but clearly feminine from the small size. Were there not three people in the room? Where was the third pair of shoes. "Calm yourself. You're being paranoid. He's probably wearing slippers," Edmund recited to himself quietly. But was it coincidental that the tall man in the room was the one who didn't seem to have shoes while the other two did. "It's not them. It's not them."

He hurried back to Edmund and Lemack. Both sensed that his nerves were on end again, more so than when he went to the bathroom. "Is something wrong, doctor?" Lemack asked.

"No. I'm fine," he said, trying to sound calm. Even though he knew he could never completely convince them he would still try to put on a good face. 

"Alright then." If he didn't want to talk, he wouldn't pressure him. It was all part of the strategy to make him feel comfortable with talking with him. 

Edmund continued to look around, but only to detract from the fact that his gaze always returned to the room. He almost had changed his mind to wish that they had a table not in one of the rooms, just so he could see the people come out of the room when they'd finished with their meal.

"No point in waiting around if we're done eating," Ro added, standing up from the table. Her knees were stiff, and her foot suddenly began to tingle as it had fallen asleep. "Ooooh…" she said annoyed, as she began to draw circles in the air with her foot, trying to get her blood flowing into it again. 

"You okay?" Zee asked.

"Yeah, my foot just fell asleep."

 "How can your foot fall asleep?" he asked.

"It's just something that happens when you don't move it around for a while. It'll go away in a minute or two." Zee couldn't help but think to himself how strange human anatomy was. After standing on her foot for another minute, the tingling sensation went away. "Okay, it's gone. We can leave now."

"About time," Bucky commented snidely. "To think our choices in life were being dictated by nothing other than your foot's comfort!"

            Ro laughed, then went over to the door and slid it open, and looked down to where she'd left their shoes. "Someone took my jacket!" she said accusingly. It was just a second later that she saw that someone had not stolen it, but that one of the waiters had brought over a coat stand which they'd politely hung her jacket on.  "No, wait, it's right here."

            She quickly pulled her jacket off of the coat hanger. "Do you think anyone noticed about the shoes?" she asked quietly.

            "If they did, it doesn't matter now. We're leaving," Bucky said, as he began to lace up his shoes. Ro bent over and hurriedly slipped her foot into her shoes, and squished her foot into it.

            "For having such a high service rating, you'd think that they'd have found us a table by now. After all, I did have a reservation," Lemack commented.

            Edmund nodded his head, "It certainly is very crowded. Regardless of that fact, they should have saved you a table if you reserved one," he replied. It was one of the few things that he'd said all evening. 

Unfortunately for Lemack it didn't have any importance in regards to Brother's Day. As it was getting later, and he wasn't sure how much of a story Edmund would have to tell, he figured he might as well have him start telling his story. He couldn't think of a roundabout way to bring the subject up, other than coming straight out and asking about. "It seems that we might be waiting a while, so why don't you take this opportunity to tell me how the world's been treating you, Edmund," Lemack asked.

This was the moment that he'd been dreading all night long. He wished that they were sitting down so he could order a strong drink to calm his nerves. But then, he'd never been a drinker to begin with. "Well. It's been pretty rough," he started out. While he was speaking, his gaze turned away from Lemack and Bennet back towards the room. –The door was open, and the guests inside were right outside of it, putting on their shoes. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was them.  Zeta looked up from watching the girl put on her shoes, and made direct eye contact with them. Edmund's blood ran cold. The robot had seen him. He'd seen him with Bennet and Lemack. Somehow Zeta had found out that he was going to be at this restaurant at this point in time, for him to be here as well…Some outside party must have a bug planted somewhere in Bennet's office. They'd overheard Bennet say that they would be going to a restaurant that was just opening somewhere in Hillsdale. That's why they were here before them. Bennet hadn't said the exact time they would be eating so they had been waiting here all day long undoubtedly.  What he didn't know, was who had sent Zeta here. It wasn't the NSA as if Zeta was now working for them, Bennet wouldn't still be trying to catch him. While his first initial thoughts had been that Brother's Day was out to get him because he betrayed them in Bennet's office, they weren't the type to deal with synthoids. Or maybe Zeta really was working for Brother's Day"s, and they'd just sent Zeta to dispose of him before he could testify in a court of the secrets he knew about their organization? It might explain why Zeta had not been able to stop Sweet from planting the explosives on the Noesis. What if Zeta had actually been helping him?  What if Brother's Day knew that he was going to be flaky so they were using Zeta as a cover-up because they suspected the he might not go through with the plan.  Or, worse: what if Zeta was here on his own? He was here to stop Edmund from testifying to Lemack, as it would place Zeta in a worse off position. It seemed the least likely option though, as it would mean that Zeta was the one who had planted the bugs in Bennet's office.  Or maybe he was working for a third party?  

"I never should have come…" Edmund thought frantically.  One thing was for sure, the words that he'd spoken with Bennet had somehow gotten out of the confidence and security of the room.  Those words could make their way to any member of the Brother's Day organization within minutes. Even if Zeta didn't want revenge, or his silence, they would. 

Zee looked around the room while he waited for Ro to put on her shoes. Instantaneously he recognized the timid, nerve-wrecked person standing by the entrance doors. 

"RO! It's Edmund!" Zee said. 

            At first, she hadn't realized who he was talking about. The thought that the scientist they'd been searching for, for months had suddenly appeared in the restaurant was near impossible to think of. "Here?" she asked, standing up, even though she hadn't finished putting on her shoes.  She began to look around the room, but didn't see him. 

"He's here…" Edmund mumbled. 

"What? Who's here?" Bennet asked.

"They've found me!" he yelled. 

Lemack was interested now. He looked around the room to see who it was that was of such great importance. It was while Lemack and Bennet were looking around the room that he took a step backwards and made a dash for the door, then began fleeing in terror.

            Ro heard Edmund shout, but wasn't quick enough to find where he was in the room before he ran out the doors.  "He's leaving!" Zee shouted, and began running through the tables, after him. Ro tried to shove her foot the rest of the way into her shoe as she ran after him. She hadn't seen Edmund for herself but she wasn't going to let Zee run off after any stranger on his own. He'd need someone who was good with words to smooth things over if it was the wrong person. 

"Hey, wait up!" Bucky shouted. He didn't bother to lace up his other shoe, but began running after Ro.

They'd only taken a few steps when Zee stopped abruptly. "Bennet!" He quickly darted off to the side, behind a room partition, pulling Ro and Bucky in behind him promptly. However, they weren't quick enough not to be seen by Bennet.

"ZETA!" he shouted. As they'd now attracted the attention of nearly every person in the entire restaurant, and their presence was well known, Zee didn't hesitate to openly run out from behind the partition and make a dash for the kitchen. 

Bennet was torn. He didn't now whether he should go after Edmund or Zeta. "AFTER HIM!" Lemack shouted. 

"Which one?" Bennet asked. 

"Zeta! Edmund isn't an expensive piece of government property!"

It was an order he liked.  The only problem was that he didn't have any equipment on him and Lemack was the only other agent with him. Even if they did catch up with him, they'd have hardly anyway to detain him. He pulled out his badge, flashing it to the waiter as he ran past him and towards the kitchen. He quickly put it away as it would he useful to have both hands free.  

Lemack didn't follow him into the kitchen, but hurried outside and ran to his car. He had his side arm locked inside of the trunk, as well as some other standard issue equipment. He quickly unlocked his car selected a few items. He used his communicator to call for reinforcements, as he was running back toward the restaurant. While the smart thing to do might have been to wait in the car so he could easily follow Zeta if he came out the back entrance and started running, it wouldn't be any smarter to leave Bennet alone in the restaurant, unarmed.

            He ran inside of the restaurant, with his side arm lowered to the ground. He didn't want to scare anyone by waiving it around in their faces. He hurried into the kitchen. As he entered the kitchen, he raised his firearm and shouted, "Don't move! NSA!" This was redundtant, however, as everyone in the kitchen was already stationary. Bennet stood in the middle of the room with his badge out.  There were quiet whisperings going on between the chefs in Japanese.  There was also one waitress as well, who looked as if she'd wished that she hadn't walked in at this particular time. Most looked curious, while others were fearful.  

            "Zeta! Reveal yourself!" he barked, quieting down the group as well.

            No one said anything, but each looked around at each other with confused expressions. "Are you sure he's in here?" Lemack asked Bennet. It seemed to him that Zeta would already have run out of the building by now.

            "I'm sure of it," Bennet replied. "I would have seen them leave, or I would have heard the door slamming shut. They're here, somewhere."

            Lemack remained by the door to make sure that no one tried to sneak out of it. He was also in a good position to watch the back door to make sure no one tried to sneak out that way either.  "Zeta, we know you're here. Show yourself!" Bennet said, as he looked around the group. He was sure that Zeta was holomorphed into one of the chefs, and might possibly be covering a disquise for Ro and Bucky as well.  In other circumstances, he would have tried to recognize them by their short statures, but as he towered over most of the people in the room, this technique would not be useful. He didn't' have his holoviewers, so he'd have to check the old fashioned way.

            "Excuse me," he said as he went up to touch on of the chef's on their shoulders. He felt the real material of the white apron that he was wearing. He was real. He was going to move down the line, until he noticed three of the chefs standing fairly close to one another. He moved over to them and extended his hand. He rudely pulled them apart from each other, separating them. However, two of the chefs still clung to each other.  "Very clever…" he commented. Zeta and Ro were under one disguise and they'd used a real person as a third party to confuse him.  "Stand apart!" he ordered the two chefs. They looked at each other, then took a step away from each other. But, as they did so, their clothes did not change, nor did their appearances. They were real too!

            "Where are you Zeta?!" he shouted.  He began to tear around the kitchen, looking under the tables and around the stoves. He calmed down for a minute, then saw another group of two chefs standing close together. He hurried over to them and pulled them, apart. Their clothes felt real as he dragged them away from each other. It wasn't them either! As he turned around, he saw yet another pair standing together! It was almost like they were doing this intentionally to distract him!

            Lemack could see that Bennet was frustrated, and desperately wanted to find the synthoid, but he couldn't continue to let him harass the workers like this. "Give it up, they're not here. You missed them."

            "He's here. I know it!" Maybe the other two were hiding somewhere else, but Zeta had to be here. He just had to check each and every one of them to make sure they were real before he admitted defeat. "Everyone. Stand in a line, without touching anyone else." They promptly did as they were told. 

            Bennet then began to hurry down the line, touching each of them on the shoulder. They were all real. The material to their clothes felt real and solid as he touched them. He'd finished going through the entire line, without finding Zeta.  All of the chefs had tired expressions on their faces. They were sick of being put through this interrogation. Their customers weren't going to be pleased at having this long delay in getting their food. 

            "We should go," Lemack suggested. It was obvious to him that Zeta wasn't here.

            "You don't know him like I do," Bennet replied. "He's here." He looked around at the chefs again. "For the last time, under the penalty of treason for harboring a federal criminal, where is Zeta?"

            The chefs looked around at each other, then one finally stepped forward. Lemack automatically aimed his side arm at him. The chef put his hands up. "Please, don't shoot," he pleaded. His English was very broken, with a heavy accent. 

            Finally, results. Bennet was pleased that Lemack was there to see the his victory. But then, another chef stepped forward raising his hands over his head a well.  Then a third chef stepped forward.  The next thing Bennet knew, all of the chefs had stepped forward, some of them were shouting, "I'm Zeta!" They were arguing amongst themselves, which one of them was the real Zeta. 

            While they were all claiming to be Zeta. Only one was real. Bennet looked among the chefs for the one that had spoken up first. It would be like Zeta to turn himself in to prevent others from getting in trouble. The others pretending to be Zeta as well was just a distraction. All he had to do was find the person who had spoken up first. He looked around the kitchen, but he either he didn't' remember the chef's face correctly, or Zeta had changed his appearance, because he didn't see him. There was only one way to resolve this. 

            "Did you call in for reinforcements?" Bennet asked Lemack.

            "I did. They should be here any second now."

            "Good. We're going to need them to help take in every single person in this room."

            The chefs quieted down. This strange agent was going to arrest each and everyone of them. The restaurant would go out of business if there were no people to cook for it. It would be selfish of them to jeopardize the business like this… A change in attitude passed over the group. Bennet could see that they were thinking about the matter a little more from their silence. "You change your minds?" he asked them. 

            "Yes," one chef spoke up. "Come, I'll show you."

            Lemack remained at the door, watching all of the other chefs, while Bennet followed the chef. He led Bennet to the back of the kitchen to the large walk-in industrial freezer.   He knocked three times on the door of the fridge, then pulled it open. So, he had been right. Zeta was still in the room. He wasn't disguised as a chef like he usually tried to hide. He was hiding in the fridge!  

            A chill air escaped from the fridge as the door opened. Inside, on the ground was a young woman. She was holding her legs and had her face buried in her knees. She was shivering, and had goose bumps all over her tan skin. The girl looked up. As soon as she saw Bennet, towering over her, her eyes grew larger and a fearful look came over her face. The chef reached out to her to help her up onto her feet. Her teeth were chattering, as she rubbed her arms to try to keep them warm. The chef closed the freezer door. The girl stood before Bennet, trembling. Maybe it was just a misconception, but Bennet didn't think that robots were supposed to shiver. 

            "Zeta?" Bennet asked. There was a hind of uncertaintly in his voice.

            "Hai," the girl said in a small voice. "Watashi no namae wa seita desu," she said, her teeth occasionally chattering. 

Seita. The girl's name was Seita. She was probably here illegally or was an underage worker, which was why she was hiding. Bennet didn't bother to even check to see it was Zeta. "Sorry for the disturbance," he apologized. "The NSA will be sending you a check for the lost profits."

He then walked out of the kitchen, past Lemack. He was embarrassed and humiliated. He was sure that Lemack would he having his badge. Why hadn't he listened to Lemack the first time when he'd suggested that he'd missed Zeta? They were gone. He almost wished now that he had gone after Edmund instead.  He would have had a chance at finding Edmund at least. 

Lemack followed Bennet from the kitchen. "I'll have the documentation of this incident on your desk by tomorrow morning," Bennet said stiffly. He didn't wan to go outside of the restaurant. Outside, they would be away from the people in the restaurant, so Lemack would have no reason to hold back in his shouting and criticisms of what a poor job he did. 

"You did as well as could be expected without the proper gear. But next time, you should be more considerate of the innocent bystanders," Lemack said. His voice wasn't angry or stern, but optimistic. Bennet was surprised. Was this the only repercussion Lemack had to say? Bennet pushed open the door and walked outside of the restaurant. Lemack followed after him out to his car. 

"Should we try to track down Edmund next?" Bennet asked.

"Don't worry about him. From what you've told me, he's the one who is seeking our assistance. If his desire is sincere, then I believe that he'll try to contact us again."

            The Japanese family stared at the intruders at their table with a curious interest. They had suddenly run up to vacant end of their table and had quickly asked if they could sit down with them for a moment, then knelt down before the family had even had a chance to respond.  Any other group would have been outraged at this invasion of their privacy, but being from a community based culture, they were willing to share their space. But as they were in America, and not Japan, and these foreigners were not natively Japanese, it did seem a little strange.  Most Americans would not be asking to sit in with them in the first place. What was even stranger, though, was to watch the appearance of the foreigners suddenly change from Caucasian to Japanese. 

"Please, don't stop eating," Zee said politely in Japanese, as they stared at them bewildered. One of the children at the table they were eating at, picked up his chopsticks and began eating, but the older adults didn't feel it was polite to eat in front of these people.  

            Shortly after they'd sat down, Bennet ran past them into the kitchen which was only a few feet away.  Not everyone could have the preferred seating in seclusion. After waiting an hour and a half for seating they were naturally grateful to even have a table at all, despite the fact that it was near the high traffic area of the kitchen doors.  

            "He fell for it!" Ro said, ready to get up and continue running.

            "We can't leave. Colonel Lemack might still be around," Zee said, pressing more firmly on her thigh to make sure that she stayed seated. His other hand was on Bucky's thigh. It was how he was providing a holomorphic cover over both of them. 

            He noticed a waitress passing by and raised his hand to call her over. Ro quickly had to reach out and slide her arm around his waist to make sure that she didn't lose her cover. It would have been very convenient for her to use Edmund's bracelet at this point. But, as it only worked by taking a picture of the object, which would mean that she would look just like someone else in the restaurant, maybe it wasn't such a good idea. 

            Zee spoke to the woman in Japanese. She had a puzzled look on her face after Zee had finished, but nodded her head. She then carefully pushed open the doors to the kitchen and went inside. 

            "What did you tell her?" Ro asked. She'd only caught one word of the conversation. The word had sounded like "Zeta" but she couldn't be entirely sure.  The question on the family's mind, was "Why did you tell her that?" as they' understood what Zee had said to the waitress. Hopefully for letting them sit with them at their table, they might later explain what their business was when the drama had died down.

            "Something to keep Bennet entertained for a while."

            "SHHH!"  Bucky hissed, as he looked over his shoulder and saw that Lemack had just returned into the restaurant. Zee's foresight had just proved itself to be very valuable. Had they taken off running, they might have run into him in the parking lot. Lemack hurried past them, just as Bennet had, and ran into the kitchen.

"Now?" Ro asked.

            "We should wait for them to leave. They might see us get up."

            The family under stood what they were talking about, but they didn't know what to make of it, or if they should do anything.  "So, you in some kind of trouble?" the father asked after another minute had gone by.

            "You could say that," Ro said casually.

            "Is there any other we can help?" he asked.

            "You've done enough for us, by letting us sit with you," Zee said courteously. "Sorry for our rudeness."

            "No need to be sorry. It's nice to eat with guests. But I would like to know one thing. How did you do that thing where you…"

            "It's a new invention of mine," Bucky spoke up. "It's a holograph projector. I plan to market it soon. This is just the prototype though. Those guys in there are looking for us because they want to steal my invention."

            It was a very nice story, one that seemed worthy and plausible. It was strange to hear it coming from a thirteen year old boy, however. Satisfied with Bucky's explanation the father then asked, "Would you care to eat with us?"

            "We'll be leaving soon, and we already ate, but thanks for the offer" Ro said.

            "Yeah, but that was five minutes ago. I think I've worked up another appetite." He then reached for a sushi roll and popped it into his mouth. 

            While Ro felt it incredibly rude of him, the family laughed. At least they seemed to be enjoying their dinner despite how they'd interrupted them. She couldn't imagine how Bucky could think of eating when Lemack and Bennet were right inside of the kitchen! She could even see Lemack's dark hair through the window on the kitchen door. She envied Zee for the fact that he was able to hide his anxiety by displaying a calm face rather than a nervous one. She was having a hard time trying not to show how worried she really was. She was worried for their own safety, but also for Edmund's. She'd heard him shout, "They've found me!" Who did he mean? The most apparent answer was that Bennet had found him, and he was running away from them. But what if it wasn't Bennet? What if he'd recognized someone from the Brother's Day Organization that was also in the restaurant and was running away from them?  Worse, was that they were unable to have followed him because they were now sitting here, hiding from Bennet. They might never find him again…

            A few more minutes went by, but they could still see the back of Lemack's head in the window. "What are they doing in there that's taking so long?" Ro asked. To her, they should have run out the back door of the kitchen by now.

            "They're still looking for us. Apparently they think we still could be in the kitchen because Lemack is guarding the door."

            "Which might mean that Bennet it outside, or that he's still in the kitchen."

            They all turned their heads towards the kitchen doors when they heard Bennet's frustrated anger expressed by his barking orders, and the sounds of him frantically searching through the kitchen.

            "Oh, he's definitely in the kitchen," Bucky commented.

            "We'll just have to wait patiently until they give up and leave."

            "Are you sure that there's no way we can help you?" the father asked again.

            "There is one thing…" Zee thought of, "If they come back to look for us, after we leave. Could you pretend that you didn't see us?"

            "See who?" the father smirked.

            Ro's urge to suddenly jump up and run was eating away at her patience. Bit then she'd feel Zee's hand, holding her down, and she would regain some control over herself. She had to trust in his plan that if they were patient and waited, that Lemack and Bennet would eventually leave and they could then walk out without having to start running. The time slowly crept by until Bennet came storming out of the kitchen, with Lemack following behind him.  They walked right past them, not even bothering to glance at the eating family. Zee watched them out of the corner of his eye until they'd left the restaurant.

            "They're gone. We'll just give them a minute to get in their car and leave, then we'll head out."

            "Are you sure you wouldn't care to join us?" the father asked again.

            "We'd be honored for you to eat with us," his wife spoke up.

            "Thanks, but we really got to be going," Ro rejected the invitation. "It's been really nice to sit here with you for these few minutes, though."

            "It was nice having you."

            Zee politely thanked the family in Japanese, then stood up from the table. As they'd already disclosed their secret, he ended the holomorphic disguise in front of the family and their regular appearances returned. Besides, what did it matter if Bucky had them convinced that it was just his invention that was doing this? The family quietly applauded for the wonderful entertainment that they were receiving from their mysterious guests. 

            "Hope we meet again sometime," Ro said cheerfully.  They began to walk towards the exit of the restaurant, which was also the entrance. Zee suddenly put his hand out and stopped walking.

            "What is it?" Ro asked, alarmed.

            "They haven't left yet!"

            "Bennet?"

            "Hurry. Out to the back entrance!"

            "Not again, " Bucky muttered as he turned around and followed Zee and Ro back towards the kitchen. 

            Bennet stood by his car, with his keys in hand, but didn't take the initiative to unlock the door or get in. They'd both escaped. Maybe he really was a pathetic agent, certainly not as pathetic as Agent West, though. He looked to Lemack, wondering what they should do next. It seemed too sudden to just get in his car and drive off. He was sure that Lemack had more to say to him, even though at the moment he seemed to be preoccupied with fussing with the safety trigger on his gun.

            "Agent Bennet. You're one of our top agents, but you've still got some things to learn."

            "I know. My behavior was certainly rash," he replied humbly.

            "No. That's not what I had in mind. More about not losing your focus, even if you're upset."

            "Yes, sir," Bennet agreed, even though he felt that Lemack's remarks were a little nebulous.  "Next time I'll be sure to…" Bennet started to say, until he was interrupted  by the sound of the NSA vehicle approaching. 

            Lemack didn't seem startled at all by their arrival. In fact, he seemed rather annoyed that their response had taken such a long time. He looked up and waved his hand, telling them to stop, then gave them a visual arm signal, telling them not to move any closer. Lemack turned to Bennet, "Instruct the commanding officer of that vehicle that they are to post agents behind the kitchen exit and at the front door. Tell them to keep the engine hot. You're to stay close to the vehicle and supervise."

            He was laying out orders for a siege, possibly followed by a chase. What was going on? "What will you be doing, sir?" Bennet asked.

            Lemack pulled back the safety on his side arm and turned the gun on, "Me? I'm going back in for the syhoid!"

            "Zeta?" Bennet stammered. Hadn't they just decided that they'd missed him? 

            "Didn't see it running, in, but I noticed it as we came out of the kitchen. You walked right by it in your retreat."

            "And what might that be?"

            "The family of Japanese people sitting at the table just outside  of the kitchen."

            "What about them?" Bennet asked, trying to hid the uncertaintly in his voice as while he had noticed the family, he hadn't noticed that they were Japanese.

            "Three of them were still wearing their shoes…" Apparently in their hurry, Zee, Ro, and Bucky hadn't remembered to remove their shoes when they'd sat down at the table. It was only a clear give away that they didn't belong while the other people at their table had removed their shoes before kneeling down.

            Bennet slapped his forehead. How could he have missed such a critical detail?  "Wait here, in case they try to run for it. I'm going in."

            Bennet hurried to the officer aboard the NSA vehicle. It was Rush. "What took so long he demanded?"

            "Sorry sir. We were waiting on West."

            "Colonel Lemack wants agents posted behind the restaurant, and in the front! Be ready to leave at any moment!"

            If Zeta really was in the restaurant, he certainly wasn't going to be getting out. 

            Zee pushed open the doors into the kitchen. The chefs all waived at him. "Thanks guys," Zee said as he ran by them. 

            "Douitashimashite," they replied in unison. Even Seita seemed glad to have helped out.       

            He ran to the back doors and pushed them open. Ro ran out then Bucky. No sooner had they run out did two warning shots fly by. "AUUUGHHH!" Ro screamed, startled as the shots whizzed by.

            "NSA! FREEZE!" two agents shouted. They were barely coming around the back of the restaurant from front of it where they'd been dispatched. 

            Ignoring the fact that they were now officially being fired at, they continued running. Ro took off in the lead with Bucky right next to her. They were using EMP pulses, which meant that only Zee would be affected.

            "Sir! They've come out the back and are running out into the street!" the agent reported. 

            Less than a minute later, they heard another pair of shots fire. It wasn't the agents, but Colonel Lemack who had just come out of the back door of the kitchen. His gun was not an EMP pulse based, but was a standard phaser. 

            "Sir! You could hit one of them!" the agent commented, concerned. It wasn't usually the policy of the NSA to participate in activities where the bystanders could get injured.  

            "That's the point, isn't it?" he replied over his shoulder as he continued running. "Bennet, I need a pick up!" he shouted into his communicator.  He has excellent accuracy, he wasn't going to accidentally hit the girl or the boy as the agent was worried he would. He was sure that he wasn't going to accidentally hit Ro or Bucky. He just needed a clean shot at the synthoid, which would be a lot  easier if it would stop moving. He made another shot at Zeta, but ended up hitting the trash can on the street just off to the right of him.

            "Darn!" he cursed.

            Zee had to do something. Ro and Bucky were in danger now, as they'd nto been earlier with the EMP pulses. He reached out and grabbed both of them by the waist with one arm then with his other shot out his hand, grabbing the top of a light post on the other side of the street. The light post creaked and groaned as they swung across the street onto the other side.  As soon as they landed, Zee let go of them and they began running again.

            "Where are we going?" Ro asked, slightly beginning to lose her breath. She wasn't in as bad of a condition as Bucky, who wasn't used to this level of psychical exertion.

            "The bus station," he replied.

            "That's a whole  ten blocks away! We're not going to make it before they catch up with us!"

            "Save your breath."

            As the NSA vehicle came by on the city street, Lemack reached out for the side handle bar and hoisted himself on without them even needing to slow down or stop. They were now quickly approaching the synthoid and his accomplices.

            They heard it coming up behind them. They still had another five blocks to go. They weren't going to make it. There wasn't even a bus in sight that they could jump up on. 

            The door of the NSA vehicle opened and Agent Rush carefully leaned out of the door with her EMP phaser ready. Just as Zeta was crossing another street, she fired her phaser. It missed his head by two feet, and hit the crosswalk sign instead. The little lighted figure of the person crossing the street immediately went dark.   

            Up ahead Ro heard the sounds of bells beginning to ring. They were dinging at constant intervals. It was a railroad track! "Hurry! Hurry!" Zee urged them.

            Ro tried to run faster, but she was already giving it all that she had. He legs were beginning to feel like jelly and she was definitely out of breath. The long train whistle sounded off in the distance, while the crossing guards began to lower in front of the street. 

            The whistle sounded again, the train was getting closer. The bright floodlight on the front of the train was beginning to illuminate the area in front of the train. They could see it creeping closer. They were just two blocks away. They weren't going to make it across the street before the train came by. "Keep with it Ro," Bucky panted.

            The driver of the NSA vehicle saw the crossing guards lowering, and began to slow down. He wasn't one to try and beat the train.

            "Don't slow down!" Lemack shouted to the driver. Zeta was going to get trapped at the rail road crossing, just like they were. If they continue to press on, they would catch up with him just as the train was going by. 

            They were only a block away when the high speed train began to pass by. Through the windows of the train, they could see the passengers lazily staring out of the window in the dark. Most of them were commuters coming home from a long day's work, too tired to even pay much attention to the group of runners coming toward them or the NSA vehicle in their pursuit. 

            Ro wanted to slow down as they were coming closer to the train, as they'd already missed crossing before it went by. She could see the bus station another three blocks up ahead through the gaps between the train cars. There still wasn't a bus there. They were out of luck. 

            "DON'T STOP!" Zee shouted. 

            They were within feet of the crossing guards. They were at the end. There was no where left to go, unless they wanted to get run over.  

            "Hang on!" he shouted, then picked up Bucky with both of his arms, then extended them, throwing him onto the top of the train. 

            "WHOA!!!!" Bucky shouted as he suddenly felt himself being picked up.  Being thrown onto the top of a moving train was one of the most terrifying things he'd ever experienced in his life. He landed on the top of the dirty roof of the train, and had to quickly flatten himself out to keep from sliding over the top and off onto the other side. He lay there, too scared to move. He turned his head towards the back of the train, waiting for Ro to be thrown on the back at any moment. There weren't many cars left. He'd better hurry up and do it soon.

            "Grab on to me," Zee instructed Ro. She immediately threw her arms around his neck. She didn't have to worry about holding on too tightly because she couldn't choke him. Zee extended his hand several feet and grabbed onto the back of the train as the last car was passing by. Zee began to retract his arm very quickly, to keep from being dragged on the ground as they were pulled into the air as the bullet train went by.  

            Ro turned her head behind her to see that the NSA vehicle had stopped at that several agents were piling out She could see that they were firing their EMP guns at them from the bright light that radiated from the tips of their guns, but they were already too far out of range to be hit. They'd made it!

            Zee reached his other arm up, so that he was hanging from the roof of the last car of the train. He had his fingers sharply dug into the roof, but it was slowly beginning to peel down and slip apart from their weight. "Ro, I need you to climb up."

            "I think I would have preferred to be thrown up like Bucky instead!"  She was holding on to his neck, how could she let go to climb up?

            She pulled herself up a  littler higher on his back and extended one arm. It was incredibly difficult as she was just holding on with one arm. She reached for the top of the train. It was too high.  "I can't reach!" she said, quickly grabbing onto his beck again. 

            "Need a hand?" Bucky asked from the top of the train. He'd crawled on his stomach the entire length of the train, carefully crawling over the gaps, until he'd reached the back of the car. Lying on his stomach, he extended his hand out to Ro. She reached up, and he pulled her onto the top of the train. The backed up, away from the edge of the train. Ro knew that Zee was still there as he hadn't fallen off. With out Ro on his back, Zee swung his leg up onto the back end of the train room and pulled himself up. They'd made it. 

            "Dinner and a ride. Not such a bad deal, now is it?" Bucky teased.

            They waited until the train came to a stop at the next stop then hurried off to a hotel where they could spend the night and get cleaned up. 

            Lemack stared begrudgingly down the tracks. He certainly did feel more sympathetic towards Bennet. Zeta certainly was more of a handful that he'd imagined. Even he had been unable to capture him. If the agents had been quicker in responding they might have already been waiting for him at the back door rather than have just been coming around to the back.  

            "What would it take for you to retrieve that synthoid?" Lemack asked Bennet. He'd heard the footsteps behind him, and automatically knew it was Bennet without even needing to look. "More agents? Newer phasers?"

            Was he really offering him resources? While he was tempted to say that the best way that he could be helped was to have West removed from his team, he thought of something better, "In other instances, we usually track Zeta by his cred purchases. It's difficult though, as the cred reports take so long to be processed after I request them because they're considered low priority because of my clearance ranking. If I could have access to those reports first hand, it would speed things up considerably."

            "I'll put in the papers to have your clearance level increased. I want that synthoid…" Lemack said. 

            Ro lay down in her bed in the hotel room. Zee was standing by the window, watching for any agents. He seemed troubled over something, other than the fact that the agents might reappear. "What's wrong?"

            "I was just thinking about what Dr. Edmund had said back at the restaurant."  He replayed the voice track of Edmund shouting, "They've found me!" Ro didn't like it when Zee did his impressions; it creeped her out.  "What if he's in trouble?"

            "Because the NSA thinks he's working for Brother's Day?"

            Zee then confirmed her other suspicion. "That or what if there was someone from Brother's Day in the restaurant? What if they found out what happened to Sweet's partner?" It was definitely an important matter to consider. "Or… what if he was talking about, me, us?"

            "Nonsense. He believed you when you said you weren't a killer. He wouldn't have let us help him out of he thought that we were working for Brother's Day like Bennet thinks."

            "I'd rather it be me. Then I wouldn't have to worry that he was still in danger. Ro, we have to find him. We have to make sure he's safe. If Brother's Day found out that it was us on that submarine, and not him, they might be unhappy with him for betraying them. Or if the NSA is after him because they thing he really is to blame because we couldn't stop Sweet, that isn't much better. Either way, it's my fault."

            "Stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault he got mixed up with them. Can you really say it's your fault when you were just trying to help out?"

            "At least you know he's alive," Bucky added. "I mean, now you know you're not wasting your time."

            "I guess that still leaves the question of how they found us at the restaurant to begin with. Apparently you didn't tip the cab driver enough."

            "That's okay. He'll have a surprise waiting for him next time he tries to use his computer."

            "How are you going to get access to his computer?" Ro asked skeptically.

            "I'll look up his info on the cab company website. Then it will be a simple matter of finding his isp ping then it's all hacking from there."

            "I don't think it was the cab driver," Zee commented. "Colonel Lemack has more important things to do with his time then chase us around. I think there was something bigger going on. Maybe they followed Edmund there and it was coincidence that we were there as well. It doesn't seem to me that their initial goal was pursuing us this time. They didn't even have a pair of holoviewers between the two of them. Neither of them were in uniform either."

            "Then how did Edmund know we were at the restaurant?"

            "Maybe there's a homing beacon in the holomorphic bracelet?" Ro suggested.

            "It's possible. But we'd have to take it apart. I don't know if it's worth risking as we might not be able to put it back together and have it work the same. The technology used to create my own holomorphic projections is highly advanced and fragile. That's why it always disappears with any slight electric pulse or disturbance. If does have a homing beacon, we should leave it the way it is so that Dr. Edmund might be able to locate us with it again."

            "Do you think he will?"

            "We can only hope that we does, or that Bucky can find something about him on the NSA website."

            "I don't know what I can do, you did have an unlucky bowl of soup."

            He wasn't quick enough to put up his hand to block the large white pillow that came sailing across the room hitting him in the face, then continued over the top of his head. "RO!!" he shouted, upset.

            "It wasn't me!" she laughed. Zee tried to look innocent, but there were only three of them in the room. "Serves you right!" Ro said, still giggling. She didn't know why she thought it was so funny. Maybe it was the way his hair had been flattened as it flew over the top of his head. 

"Score one more brownie point," Zee thought. 


End file.
